How many bhagavathottamargazh are there in this world and how many bhakthas are there isnt it. Are they in one place, no. Just as Narada was a triloka sanchAri, all the bhagavathottamargazh are triloka sanchAris. They keep performing bhagavannamakeerthanam and do bhagavathgunakatha pravachanams but they are not doing this due to some other desire. All the bhagavathottamargazh when performing the katha pravachanam are not depending on the bhakthas listening to them or anything but on Sri Guruvayurappa. What gift can Parikshit give in return to Sukha brahmam? Once the sapthaham is over from Sukha brahman, Parikshit says, 'Dhanyosmi! Anugrahitosmi!' I became extremely blessed and got paramAnugraham. I cannot offer anything in return just as a child cannot offer anything in return to the pain she underwent to deliver the child.
Thus bhaktan is indebted to Sarveshwaran. Sishya is indebted to Gurunathar. That bhagavan who gave this mother or the Gurunathar for whom, we are always indebted forever. Thus says Prithu chakravarthy that such a bhaktha is forever indebted to the sadhu or the bhagavan himself. Such a sadhu sangham we should beget and for this we should pray the bhagavan for getting that. The bhagawan will easily grant any boon but the satsangha bhagyam, the bhagawan will test first and find out if the bhaktar is really desirous of that and only then will give it. We ask for Kamyarthi Bhakthi (bhakthi for ones benefit only) but asking for satsangham cannot be termed as KamyArtham. We should ask for bhakthi.
As said in the Narayaneeyam
tvad-bhaktistu kathA-rasAmRita
jharI nirmajjanena svayaM
siddhyantI vimala-prabodha-padavIM
akleshatas-tanvatI
vibho saivAstu me tvat-padaprema-
prouDhi-rasArdratA
drutataraM vAtAlayAdhIshvara
Bhattadri prays asking for bhakthi. In each of the stanzas, he prays for removal of his paralysis (vatha rogam) in all ways and means of endearments. I am your bhaktha and why have you given me this ailment? Your place itself is called vatalayam, you were consecrated by Vaayu himself, being so, why are you still not relieving me of Vayu rogam. He asks at each instance, the way he is asking it will look as if he is an Aartha bhakthan, looking for material needs. Why then we should do the 1000 parayanam of such a person with the narayaneeyam, people would ask?
Even in Aartha bhakthi, bhagavannama coming from the mouth is the gift of the bhagawan himself, otherwise it will not come. There are so many who remember the bhagawan out of sukham or forget out of sukham. Similarly there are so many who remember the bhagawan out of dukham or forget out of dukham. If we get a disease, immediately we ask why did I get this disease when for so long I was praying to you, Krishna or people may ask Oh! Krishna, please relieve me of this ailment. With whatever ailment, the 1000 slokas of the Narayaneeyam was sung and composed which is possible only by our bhattadri.
Even if I get mad, will I have bhakthi, was tested on himself by the great Appayya Dikshitar who ate an Ooma Thengai (which causes one to speak mad sentences). He then asked his disciples to let him know what does he do after eating, does he say bhagavannama or become mad. Such was his test. Why, because he wanted to do an atma parikshai and test whether he has real bhaktha. If I speak whatever came to my mouth then my bhakthi is nor worth a penny. Even in madness, if I speak bhagavannama then my bhakthi is satyam. After eating it, in that state itself, it seems he wrote a grantham on bhagavatgunam. When he came back to senses, he asked his disciples what he did and the disciples showed him the grantham. Why, because the bhakthi was so deep. In the heart, bhakthi should be so strong.
In the Sri Bhagavatham, panchama skandam all the agnihotra brahmanas who had come to the yagnam of Nabhi Maharaja, when the Lord Mahavishnu appeared from the Agni Kundam -
kshut-patana dasayami api
sakala-kasmala-nirasanani
tava guna-krita-namadheyani
vacana-gocarani bhavantu
sakala-kasmala-nirasanani
tava guna-krita-namadheyani
vacana-gocarani bhavantu
When hunger, thirst, disease, falling down, death, all kinds of pain, worry establish themselves "tava guna-krita-namadheyani", your gunam or your leelas or namas, sakala-kasmala-nirasanani vacana-gocarani bhavantu must come in my mouth always. Even in intense fever, my mouth should still be able to say Krishna Guruvayurappa, Vasudeva, Prabho...only your nama must come from my mouth. Even in my death bed or with any disease of kapha-vAdha-pittha, the nadam should still say 'hari hari' instead of some ugly sounds. In my words, only your nama should come, that's how bhattadri prays to the bhagawan. Just praying without divine grace (Bhagavat kripa), will the nama just come?
Even with paralysis, asking for relief from it, bhattadri sung the hymns of the Narayaneeyam. Although he was praying to the bhagawan to relieve him of the disease, his goal was still to sing the hymns. What was the instrument in singing the hymns, it was good that this disease came, such was the bhakthi of Bhattadri. The same way Bhadrachala Ramadasar wanted to sing about the bhagavan to his hearts content. But he instead got jail. As soon as he got into jail he was singing, everyone would think that ramadasar wanted to get released from jail and that's why he is singing, when in fact he was singing happily because he got into jail. In the same way, although bhattadri was asking to get cured of his disease, he thought that this disease was his friend as the disease is singing along with him, it says the narayaneeyam alongwith him. That itself became a satsangham says bhattadri. So he cannot be merely said that he is a KamyArtha Bhakthar or an atma bhakthar, he is in fact a prema bhakthar.
Normally a kshetram will become illuminated by the presence of a bhaktha. Srirangam is famous because it is in the puranas, from where does the brilliance come from, it came from the Azhwars and Sri Ramanujar. Any kshetram, well, it is there and rishis have consecrated them, but it ultimately became famous only by the presence of bhakthars. Pandaripuram exists as a kshetram, but how did it become famous, mainly due to Namadevar and Tukaram.
Guruvayur kshetram is there, Guru and Vaayu consecrated it, but it became famous only by Narayaneeyam, Bhattadri and Poonthanam. If such a Narayaneeyam came out only for the relief from paralysis for Bhattadri and not prema bhakthi, then no one would have known about it. No one would have known that Guruvayur existed. Vyaadhi Nivrithyam with prema bhakthi will be one in a million. Asking for just a cure for the disease to the bhagawan, well, more than half a million would be there. Nishkamya bhakthi will be only for one in a million. More often than not, its only through kamyArtha bhakthi, bhagavathas are forced to show the way to God. Being so, when here, such a stotram as Narayaneeyam was written, all the people come to this kshetram, although initially they came with material desires, will not Sri Krishna give the grace? Will Krishnan say do not come. But bhagawan Sri Krishna says, all are my bhakthars, the bhagawan welcomes all,
janaH sukrithinorjuna!
njaani cha Bharatharshabha!
Some people perform bhakthi with aartha (materially), some perform bhakthi as arthAarthi, some perform bhakthi as jijnjaasu, some perform bhakthi as jnaani. Chathurvidha as said in Bhagavad Gita (the 4 types) of bhakthas, sukrithinorjuna! (all the 4 are blessed). yena kena prakAreNa, let them come to Guruvayur, let them come to my temple and cry to our Krishna! only if they are blessed can they come. The jnaani is much preferred whilst the rest are treated less is not what the bhagawan intended here, even if one entered the border of Guruvayur itself, he is blessed.
Without the bhagawan thinking and wishing one should come, one cannot come to Guruvayur. If he has come itself, then sukrithinaha. He is krithArthan, thus the bhagawan welcomes all, the jnaani amongst them all becomes more sreshtam. But are other bhakthas lower? Is there a bhaktha adhamam?. In everything there is a uttamam, madhyamam and adhamam. Likewise bhagavattotaman, bhagavatamadhyaman and bhagavatha - should not be said-. Hari Yogeeswarar says in Srimad bhagavatham and Sridhara swamigal, while mentioning the third form of bhaktha says prakrutha prarambhaha! to denote this type of bhaktha. bhakthan in the beginning stage. There is no adhaman at all and should not be told as such.
api cet su-duracaro bhajate mam
ananya-bhak sadhuheva sah mantavyah
samyak vyvasitah hi sah
ksipram bhavati dharmatma
sasvac-chantim nigacchati
kaunteya pratijanihi
na me bhaktah pranasyati
In Bhagavad Gita Chapter.9 30-31 above, this is the way bhagavan orders, so where is the place for a adhama bhaktan, he is Prakrutha Prarambhaha! at the starting point. This bhaktan prays in a materialistic way, oh bhagavan! I need a job, if I do get a job I will perform an udayastamana pooja. The bhagavan thinks, 'What a pity, only by him getting a job, a udayastamana pooja will happen'. Even then God is happy that he atleast came here. Not going to someone else and begging him for a job, and not knowing that the other person himself is without a job and looking for someone to use as help and this man instead of going there, atleast he has come here to guruvayur. He atleast got this job, coming to my sannidhi and praying by itself is a good job. Coming to the bhagavan and putting in an application itself is a job. Bhagavan therefore welcomes with open arms the arthAathmikana bhakthar as well as the Aartha bhakthar. But the prema bhakthar is considered separate, there is no doubt about that. That prema bhakthi has to come up step by step only. Prema bhaktha is superior and bhagavan on seeing the prema bhakthar feels very happy. Such a prema bhakthi is what bhattadri is expecting for himself, he needs to get cured as well, why an Aartha bhakthi...
Vyasema deva hitham yadayu,
says Vedam
we need a Sthiramana Angam - sthirai rangaihi (firm organs and body) and a deerghamana aayisu (long life). What's the use of a life full of disease, difficult for us as well as others, we need a deerghamana aayisu, how should we have this - Sthirair-angaihi (healthy body), dushtuvaangamsatha deva hitham (deva - Vasudevan, Guruvayur hitam) - whatever the benefits we got from the bhagawan, dushtuvaagamsatha - we should say with mouthful, the bhagawan Sri Guruvayurappan is saving me. Such a bhakthi should happen within me. I go to many sapthahams, satsanghams, namasankeerthanams, even if I get a chance, I will run away to these places, run to the satsangham, Sri Krishna will save me and the bhagawan is supporting me in this, even the family is quite accommodating with me. The family says, 'Good thing, go away to the satsangham and be away from home atleast for some time, they say :-), that's why, deva-hitam - what other hitam do we need? That hitam, the bhagawan has given us, that hitam is dushtuvaangamsatha.
We need to say with a mouthful,
bhunjana evatma-krtam vipakam
Prabho! Krishna! To see your form, you gave me eyes, to listen to your katha you gave me ears, to tell your nama you gave me the tongue, to perform your aradhana and to do kainkaryam to your dasars you gave me hands, to come running to Guruvayur kshetram you gave me legs and to top all this you gave me a accommodating mind, and friends accordingly, after performing so much hitam, Na aham vasami vaikuntami, not living in vaikuntam, here in Guruvayur, being a small unnikrishnan, inviting everyone to come and see me, what a hitam. Whatever tapam, samsara difficulties, health problems, tiredness - Krishna! Guruvayurappa! as we think its so comforting! Such a peace, shanthi is there! Only to get this are we coming running to your sannidhanam. That hitam, dushtuvaangamsatha, we should say with our full heart and mouth. Even if a person performs a hitam, we say thanks. Can we say thanks to a hitam performed by bhagavan! So with a Sthirai rangaihi and a deerghamana aayisu, we should always be chanting the nama of the bhagawan, come often to Guruvayur and be in the company of the bhagavathas. Apart from this wish, will anyone ask for anything else?
jharI nirmajjanena svayaM
iddhyantI vimala-prabodha-padavIM
akleshatas-tanvatI
If bhakthi is there, automatically jnanam and vairagyam will come. We need not worry that vairagyam has not come, jananam has not come, has not come with the reading of 1000s of vedas - bhaktya mam abhijanathi yavan yas casmi tattvatah as the bhagavan says in Sri Gita. If bhakthi is there, then only jnana will come. As bhattadri says above, with great difficulty, no need to obtain jnanam - jnaane prayaasam udapaasya namanta eva jeevanti - as you keep reading the sastras, more arrogance might creep in, but Sri Krishna needs only bhakthi and not vibhakthi. Bhattadri himself was a maha pandit, a lion in grammar and vedanta.
There was a parama-bhakthar, Poonthanam and was having lots of prema towards bhagavan and daily he used to read the sahasranamam, and while reading so he would read as mara-prabhave namaha instead of amara-prabhave namaha. This comes in Vishnu Sahasranamam. amara-prabhave namaha is not that nice to read, why because, when did the bhagavan be with the eternal. He was always amongst the 'maram', both in Rama Avatar and the Krishna Avatar (Brindavanam he was always amongst the trees), Poonthanam was always praying as mara-prabho. Bhattadri saw this and said, Poonthanam, please don't read in an abaddha way, why don't you read as amara-prabhave namaha. Then Poonthanam tried to correct but he could not let go of the habit from his younger days. Next day he started reading as mara-prabhave namaha, Bhattadri said, 'if you read like this Sri Krishnan will leave Guruvayur itself. Don't read like this. Poonthanam felt sad that he could not read the sahasranamam itself correctly, thinking thus he cried to himself. In the night, the bhagawan appeared in the dream of Bhattadri - "amara-prabhave namah, I am the bhagawan of amarars, then are you are the prabhu of trees. Because It is I who created the marars themselves. If a child is reading, don't you know the meaning of it, being a maha pandit. Asvatthah sarva-vrikshanam (Bhagavad Gita Chapter 10.26), have I not told you in the Gita, among trees, I am the sacred Ashvattaha! Why don't you say so? Therefore I don't need your vibhakthi, but I need Poonthanam bhakthi only". Bhattadri immediately went to Poonthanam and said, 'You read as mara-prabhave namah only!'
Why, is that what our Guruvayurappan likes. Why because,
yasmin prati-slokam abaddhavaty
api namany anantasya yaso 'nkitani yatsrnvanti gayanti grnanti sadhavah
yasmin prati-slokam abaddhavaty - that's not how every sloka (abaddhavaty - in error) needs to be read, but just because we may read with abaddhavaty, we should not refrain from touching the bhagavatham. Read the bhagavatha, even if you are studying in a abaddhavaty way it becomes the opposite for the bhagawan. Only when someone falls 4 or 5 times, he will be able to drive correctly. As soon as he climbs on the cycle, he won't be able to drive correctly, only after he falls a few times he will understand the balance.
Similarly, when in the beginning, if the bhagavatham is given to the child to read, even though its read in an abaddhamana way, we should encourage by saying you are reading very nicely and then the child gets the desire to read. On the contrary, if you curse that the child cannot read the bhagavatham, then the child will start to read another book. There are many such books in the world anyway. Therefore we should not scare children. We should not scare anyone.The bhagawan doesnt discriminate between the good reading and bad reading, even a childs prattle is loved by God. As a mother doesnt discriminate whether her child speaks clearly or not, she is still happy. If, with bhakthi, in the bhagavan's sannadhi, we study the bhagavatham, even with lots of scholarly knowledge or with prema bhakthi with the chance of being able to just read the bhagavatham then also the bhagawan is happy. Even if its read in a wrong way
- prati-slokam abaddhavaty -
the bhagawan is extremely happy. Then the bhagavan is mainly expecting bhakthi. If there is bhakthi, will jnanam come? certainly yes, automatically. Only by the divine grace of the bhagavan will jnanam come and not by our intelligence as said in
vimala-prabodha-padavIM akleshatas-tanvatI
in Narayaneeyam.
Bhakthi is what we will need, what kind of bhakthi it should be
saivAstu me
pada-prema-prouDhi-rasArdratA
drutataraM vAtAlayAdhIshvara
That prema-prouDhi-rasArdratA, what a sentence this is! Such a prouDamana Prema is required, not a durBalamana prema.
Now we have had a darshan of Krishna Guruvayurappa and can we then leave Guruvayur. When we go back to our places, be it London, Madras or Delhi, we say Krishna! Guruvayurappa! Sri Krishna will be remembered immediately, isn't it. So when we say the namam, we do remember the rupam....paThanto nAmAni....smaranto rUpaM te....because of this relationship between namam and roopam, it is said as "paThantaha", not even "GayanThaha" although....'Nama Gane sadha ruchihi'....said Rupa Goswami....
paThantaha nama smaranam, nama keerthanam, nama japam.
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